Thanks everyone for their comments on this thread. I am now definitely more open-minded about fellow alcoholics bringing their kids to meetings.
Last month, a woman I know brought her 7 year old daughter to a meeting. The little girl is a classmate & friend of my little boy. My son does not know that I am an alcoholic and that I attend AA meetings. I’m just not ready to share that part of my life with my children (they have seen me drinking but not the uglier stuff). I was very uncomfortable at the meeting and I did talk to my sponsor. I was scared that the kids would talk about it and it would affect my family. Of course, this turned out to be more self-centered thinking – I’m not that important even among 7 year olds
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We only have one meeting per night in my town. We don’t have the option of attending alternate meetings. If a fellow alcoholic needs to bring their children to meetings, I am going to accept it. He or she may really need to be there, it’s just too important. Like me, these people love and care for their own children and are trying to stay strong. I am blessed with people in my life (wife, mother in law, aunts, friends) that take care of my children while I work on my recovery - not everyone is so fortunate.
For me, it is really about getting out of that self-centered mindset (an ongoing process) and being there to help others. And whether people bring their kids or not, they are there to help me too. It's the variety of people that make the meetings I attend so powerful and I really have to appreciate everyone.